Kendrick Lamar gave Drake a break during the Super Bowl Halftime show by rapping "Not Like Us" ... but the 'pedophile' line was nowhere to be heard, and Kendrick made it clear -- it was just too risky.
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00:00I loved the Superbowl last night.
00:01Really?
00:02I really loved it.
00:03Even though it was a blowout game and it was never really in question?
00:07I'll tell you why.
00:08Because I was shocked at how poorly the Chiefs played and I was so impressed by the way the Eagles played.
00:16It was so interesting to watch it that way.
00:18I know you weren't just about the sports.
00:20There had to be something else that you enjoyed.
00:21No, I swear to God.
00:22I was really into this game.
00:25I really was.
00:26But, Halftime Show is something we've been talking about for weeks and weeks and weeks.
00:30Yeah.
00:31And my money was on Kendrick Lamar actually singing or rapping that verse where he called...
00:40Certified pedophile.
00:41Certified pedophile, which was the big question.
00:44We talked about it and I remember you got the story last week that the Fox lawyers and the NFL lawyers were looking over it.
00:50Right.
00:51I thought they were going to do it and I was wrong.
00:54He was going to do it and they were going to censor him and that's not what happened.
00:57And, by the way, he clearly played into the fact that this was a big topic of a conversation leading up to his performance.
01:06Because right off the bat, or almost near the start of it, he referenced Drake's lawsuit against Universal Music Group for defamation for that very line.
01:17And he referenced it and then when it got up to that point, well, here's what he did.
01:22I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love the suit.
01:25What song?
01:27Yeah, that song.
01:28That song.
01:29Say, Drake, I hear you like I'm young.
01:32You're better than ever gonna sell Block One to any that talk to him and they in love.
01:36Just make sure you hide your little sister from him.
01:39They tell me, Chubb the only one that get your hand-me-downs.
01:41Party at the party, playing with his nose now.
01:44Baka got a real case, why is he around?
01:46Certified lover boy, certified.
01:48Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.
01:50I'm on them tough.
01:50Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.
01:52I'm gonna do my stuff.
01:53Why you chillin' like a, ain't you tired?
01:55Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor.
01:59So he did A minor, but he didn't do the pedophile line.
02:02A minor he could always get away with, because that was the double entendre.
02:04Right, right.
02:05But I am really surprised at that.
02:08And I also thought that Kendrick was going to take a stand, because remember, at the, see, at the Grammys.
02:15Well, he had nothing to do with that, right?
02:16No, no, I, I.
02:17The.
02:18It's CBS.
02:20Right.
02:20And, and the Academy.
02:21But I think that was even bolder than if he sang it, and I'll tell you why.
02:25That if he had sung that at the Grammys, at least that's his performance.
02:29Right.
02:30The fact that they decided to play that and use that line is bolder than if Kendrick had actually done it live.
02:39In the, at the Grammys.
02:40At the Grammys.
02:41Right.
02:41So that's why I thought the stage was set for him to do it.
02:45By the way, Serena, we.
02:46Oh, the best.
02:48Great surprise.
02:48And we'll get into that.
02:49Yeah.
02:50But I gotta say, it, it, it really surprised me that he played along on this.
02:58So I don't know how much of a choice he had in this.
03:00You gotta remember that there are several people who have their hands in this.
03:04Obviously, there's what Kendrick wants to do, but the other parties are Rock Nation, who produced the halftime show, Apple Music, which is also a partner in producing it.
03:14Right.
03:15Fox, which is airing it, and the NFL.
03:18And all of those parties have to decide, do we want to risk a lawsuit?
03:23Well, they could split the judgment four ways.
03:25Listen, we're gonna go all in on this, guys.
03:29Pass the hat around.
03:30No, but you get it.
03:32Like, corporate lawyers go, is it worth it, guys?
03:35Yeah, maybe he's not gonna sue, but maybe he does.
03:39Can I just say, I can tell you what the corporate lawyers did.
03:42Guys, there's a lot of risk.
03:43There is significant risk here, and you know that you are gonna be sued because he sued Universal Music Group, and you're gonna have to then defend it and pay a lot of money for lawyers' fees.
03:55I know the drill.
03:57I know exactly what that—you might—you'll probably win, but there's no guarantee, and I've heard it a million times.
04:04I think this was smart of him not to say it.
04:06I mean, like you said, obviously, I don't think he could because there would be lawsuits.
04:08But if he did, and he got sued, and there are FCC complaints, and all the things that we know would have happened, that would have become the narrative, and that would have been the story.
04:16As it is, he still got to slip it in there, but he's like, I didn't say it, and so now we're still talking about it.
04:22People are still associating Drake with it.
04:24Kendrick won.
04:25That little smirk he gave when he said, say Drake, and looked right in the camera and gave that little smile, he knew exactly what he was doing.
04:30Yeah, and instead, now people get to talk about the actual performance.
04:34I mean, we're still talking about this.
04:36It doesn't surprise you guys that he didn't take a stand and said, this is my song, I'm going to sing it my way.
04:40I thought he would sing it and force them to actually—
04:43Bleep it.
04:43Bleep it, and that way, it's covered.
04:46He gets—
04:46Right, he gets his—
04:47He gets the credit for having said it.
04:49That's right.
04:50And then it's on the corporate lawyers for shutting it down.
04:55Then, you know what I mean?
04:56But this way, he was on board with it, clearly, because he just didn't say it.
05:02I mean, but I think your way would have been—
05:05I mean, that's what I would have expected.
05:06That's the win-win.
05:07I'm surprised—
05:08He wins and he gets the cred, and the lawyers win because it didn't actually air.
05:13He got the controversy without creating the controversy, and that was really smart.
05:17I forgot that Drake dated Serena Williams.
05:20I just forgot.
05:22And—
05:22I did, too.
05:23I didn't remember until this morning, and I was like, oh, that's—
05:25Not just dated.
05:26They had, like, such a messy breakup.
05:28His song, Too Good, where he says, I'm too good for you, you took my love for granted, he said that song was about her.
05:33And then, on his last album, he had a song called Middle of the Ocean, where he called her husband, Alexis Ohanian, a groupie.
05:39So it's been very contentious.
05:40Like, he still—
05:41I mean, he wrote that song about Alexis, like, almost a decade after they broke up.
05:44It still hits Drake.
05:45So for Kendrick to bring Serena out there and have her date during Not Like Us, during that song, I mean, it's such brilliant levels of petty.
05:55You got to respect it.
05:56So do you think he—
05:57Obviously, he knew, because before the Halftime Show went on, Drake actually went on a little bit of a rant about his exes.
06:05And you got to remember, he also—
06:07Do you think he knew that—
06:08Do you think he knew Serena—
06:09Well, he knew SZA was going to be on it.
06:10He knew SZA was going to be on it.
06:11Right.
06:12And he dated her.
06:13I don't know that he knew Serena was going to be on it.
06:14I don't know if he knew about Serena, but something got him all in a tizzy about his exes.
06:26Gave you your time. Gave you your energy. Gave you your money. Gave you your heart. Gave you your soul.
06:34Gave everything that you ever had to somebody, and they played with you and wasted your time, wasted your energy, wasted your money.
06:44I want you all to turn up to this song.
06:47This is for all y'all exes and everybody they could bring you in their f***ing life.
06:51If you're doing better than your ex, I want to see you too.
06:54God, it's like real husbands of Beverly Hills or something.
06:57He could have just been saying that as a thing about exes in general, leading into the song.
07:02But, come on.
07:04Remember, one of Drake's biggest hits is In My Feelings.
07:06The man is constantly in his feelings, and he is feeling all kinds of feelings today.
07:10He's from Virginia.
07:12I mean, first of all, let's not be surprised that Drake reacted the way he did, because that's definitely on brand for Drake.
07:18Everything he performs is based on his emotions.
07:21And then having his exes up there, I think that was definitely on purpose.
07:24And I'm low-key wondering, did Serena call and ask if she could be part of it?
07:28Or was Kendrick already tooting that up?
07:30You know what I mean?
07:31I just feel like the entire thing, I thought it was great.
07:33And even taking or keeping the P-word out of it, we all know what he's saying.
07:38We all know the insinuation.
07:40Let's be serious.
07:41Of course we do.
07:42But Serena was awesome.
07:44I mean, Serena was great.
07:51You know what I mean?